Low water pressure

[Reach4]

Are you saying that the bypass (connected to flex hoses) was twisted upside down, so that input connected to output and vice versa?

Nice call by Bannerman.

 

[jreed]

My bypass is connected to pvc pipe so it doesn't move. When I changed the resin, I reversed the in/out where the control valve connects to the resin tank. So the in on the valve was connected to the out on the tank.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

I guess now the question becomes how much resin did I wash away and do I need to redo it?

Since it's only a 3/4 cu/ft, a significant loss could be an issue.

Are you able to shine a light through the resin tank to view how much resin remains? Assuming it's not a cabinet model (resin tank sitting inside the brine tank) and doesn't have an outer jacket, a work light held behind the resin tank while the room is dark, will often show the height of the resin.

 

[jreed]

Good idea, that worked. It looks like from the staining on the tank, I lost at most 4". There is about 24" left.

 

[Bannerman]

You'll now need to remove all faucet aerators and run the faucets all together to flush the resin out. Remember the laundry connections often have screens inside the connectors.

Of larger concern is the water heater if tank type and gas fired as the resin can act as an insulator on the bottom of the tank.

 

[ditttohead]

When the bottom screen fails... a gravel underbedding makes for a cheap insurance policy. I am amazed companies still recommend against a gravel underbed. If it were a bad idea, why would every commercial unit have them... Sorry, just speaking from my nearly 30 years of real world field experience, not relying on what I read online.

 

[jreed]

Thanks for the advice! My hot water tank is electric. Should it be flushed?

 

[Reach4]

If you flush the water heater, I would consider replacing the plastic spigot temporarily with a 3/4 NPT nipple. That is not as easy as just hooking up a garden hose, but it will give higher velocity flow. I replaced my plastic spigot permanently with a nipple, ball valve, and garden hose adapter. In retrospect, a temporary setup would have been fine. The plastic spigot would screw back into place when done flushing.

The process is to drain. Turn the water back on briefly to raise turbulence. Repeat several times.

I flushed my stuff into a tub, and as a consequence, I could see what came out. Impressive amount of stuff. There are water heater rinser wands that just hook up to a garden hose and insert. I wonder if an electric pressure washer wand could go through a 3/4 nipple and really raise some turbulence. You would need to be careful not to break the dip tube. That would be bad, so maybe a more limited stream of water is better. But turning off and on the water sprays from the dip tube and does a pretty good job.

 

[ditttohead]